The Daring Bakers January 2010 Challenge: Nanaimo Bars

I didn’t know what Nanaimo bars were before this challenge and I’m glad I tried these out because they are really delicious. Very rich, very very rich indeed (and probably too rich for my taste!); you can only have a very small piece at a time. But what’s good about Nanaimo bars is that you can freeze them and keep them for later.

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

THE DARING BAKERS JANUARY 2010 CHALLENGE: NANAIMO BARS

This challenge also required that we make the graham crackers that go in the base of the bars as crumbs. These ones I really like and will be making again. I didn’t make a gluten free cracker though. I just used plain flour that I had on hand. I will give the gluten-free cracker a go next time as some claimed they were nicer than normal ones…Those crackers keep really well in an air-tight jar by the way. They are still crisp after 3 weeks!

I adapted the gluten-free recipe for this challenge by replacing all the gluten flours with plain flour and also veganised it.

Add the margarine. Mix by rubbing in until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. No chunks of margarine should be visible.

In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the maple syrup, soy milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and slightly sticky.

Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight. (I left mine overnight).

Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into squares. (I baked the scraps as well because they were going to be crumbs anyway!)

Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.

Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.

When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. (Or I placed some wafers in a large plastic bag, forced all air out, ensured it was properly closed and smashed with a rolling pin until wafers were crumbs.

For the bars, I more or less followed this video by Sarah Kramer. I didn’t make many changes to the vegan recipe. I replaced the flaxseed (to which I am sometimes allergic) by egg-replacer (Allergycare brand that I found here in Dublin) and the nuts by rice crispies.

I also decided to go for a mixed chocolate and custard centre. The idea was to have a marble effect. But this cream just wouldn’t behave the way I wanted it to! So, I ended up with blobs of yellow cream and chocolate cream here and there in the centre and sometimes they just mixed together.

Anyway, these bars were delicious but not guilt-free!!! I’m am thinking of trying a lower fat version next time.

Free Printable Meal Planner

Subscribe for updates from the blog and YouTube channel and receive a free meal planner as a thank-you gift! Check your email after subscribing to download your free planner.

Email Address

First Name

Read our Privacy Policy.
We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking above to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Primary Sidebar

Search this website

We are Teenuja & Kevin, the couple behind the Veganlovlie blog and YouTube Channel. Currently based in Montreal, we are vegan foodies who love to immortalise our vegan recipes into delicious photos and make tempting recipe videos. Read more...

Stay Connected

COPYRIGHT

If you would like to share our content, please share photos (without cropping or editing out our watermark) and a small description with a link back to our original post. Please do not share/republish entire recipes (ingredients and directions) or large bodies of text, edit our photos in any way without our written permission. Social media share and directly embedding our YouTube videos (via the YouTube embed code) are always welcome. Thank you.
Please read more about our copyright notice in the Contact page.

AFFILIATE LINK DISCLOSURE

We sometimes use affiliate links on this website. This means that if you make a purchase through one of these links, Veganlovlie receives a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps support the work that we do and keep the recipes free for you to access. Thank you! 🙂